Relief Rally on Share Prices as US and Europe Make Gains

What a difference a few days make. Stock markets began to rebound strongly in early week trading after the horrendous falls last week. Share prices in the UK had been hit hard, but this mini relief rally was also aided by a weaker British Pound.

The British Pound came under pressure on Monday when talk from Brussels emerged that the UK’s proposed border solution for Northern Ireland is not going down well with the EU leaders.

Brexit worries have been putting constant pressure on GBP and each time it seems progress is being made, another wall gets built for the Government to circumnavigate.

While GBP remains weak stocks tend to perform stronger. So unless there is an agreement soon on the Northern Ireland situation then expect share prices to make more gains over the coming weeks.

In the USA however, strong results from global entertainment company Netflix boosted confidence that the recent sell off was overdone. The Dow Jones surged higher by over 500 points.

To top things off the president decided to Tweet about the rally, stating that the market was up.

Stock Market up 548 points today. Also, GREAT jobs numbers!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 17, 2018

When the president decides to ramp it up, he certainly does it well!

Whether these gains can hold moving forward remains to be seen, but many are talking about new all-time highs to follow into the new year. If you study the way USA stocks have performed since Donald Trump was voted in, then you’d not bet against that scenario playing out.

from http://www.livecharts.co.uk/livewire/2018/10/relief-rally-on-share-prices-as-us-and-europe-make-gains/

Stock Markets Wobble and Completely Fall Down

European shares continue to fall hard. The trigger began as the US markets were hit hard during yesterdays trading session, as investors were seriously concerned about a possible trade war and US bond yields.

Asian stocks joined in the trend as they plummeted to an 19 month low overnight. Share price valuations have been extremely high and this global sell off may not have come as a surprise to many. Experts have been predicting a crash in the markets for at least the last 12 months. The markets in the USA have been soaring to new all-time highs constantly, while indexes such as the FTSE 100, although they have retraced from their recent highs, are still at a very high valuation.

These were dangerously high levels to be at for the markets just as president Donald Trump began to criticize the US central bank. The president directed some comments straight to the Federal Reserve yesterday, labeling them “crazy” for their recent interest rate hikes.

These comments triggered the sell off which amounted to a loss on the US markets of over $800 billion. Investors should indeed be worried.

Oil prices are currently adding to the worries. Iran has vowed not to let Donald Trump’s stance on oil sanctions to hit their exports. According to reports, Iran is making plans to revive “middlemen” who will be allowed to buy oil on energy exchanges. Iran needs oil exports, and surely will not back down without a fight.

And in among all this turmoil, the US dollar remains relatively strong. It has pulled back slightly from the recent highs of early October, but it remains in an upward trajectory. This strength in the dollar is impacting gold, and the current gold price remains low, just below $1200.

Investors globally are hoping for some strength in the stock markets before the festive period. It’s often a strong time for share prices. So all eyes will be looking to November hoping for a change in direction.

from http://www.livecharts.co.uk/livewire/2018/10/stock-markets-wobble-and-completely-fall-down/

UK Share Prices Continue To Slide While USA Has Bank Holiday

The leading shares on the world’s top indexes continue to climb a wall of worry, with prices falling further after last weeks dismal ending on the stock market.

Share prices were down on the FTSE 100 and Dax30 index during morning trading in Europe, and futures seem weak in pre-market across in the USA. The Dow Jones index seems like it’s also heading lower as futures are currently priced below Friday’s close.

In the last three trading sessions share prices have tanked on the FTSE 100 bringing the index value back down to early September lows.

The trigger for the FTSE 100 falls in recent weeks have occurred mainly through strength in the British pound, putting pressure on shares. But this time around GBP is continuing to slide further. This is in spite of the welcome news over the weekend that European Union and United Kingdom may be able to reach an agreement on Brexit after all, which one would have thought should be positive for the Pound.

However, there is a lot of talk in trading chat rooms that market makers might be taking advantage of Monday’s bank holidays in Japan, the USA and Canada. Using the lack of volume to create a false market. Whether there is any truth in this remains to be seen, but it should soon become apparent when those markets open again for trading on Tuesday.

Economic Data

We have a relatively quiet week for economic data after last weeks non-farm payrolls. The only data of note in the UK is GDP on Wednesday and in the USA on Thursday there is CPI data. CPI data is forecast to remain static 0. 2%.

But for now the markets are awaiting some volume. Volume will arrive again when the United States comes back from a national holiday and Japan wakes up again at midnight GMT for trading.

from http://www.livecharts.co.uk/livewire/2018/10/uk-share-prices-continue-to-slide-while-usa-has-market-holiday/